The book of antelopes, vol. 1 (of 4)Sclater, Philip Lutley
Science
The book of antelopes, vol. 1 (of 4)
Sclater, Philip Lutley
Antelopes
In the year after Sir Robert Harvey’s celebrated sporting-expedition
to Kilimanjaro (in 1886–87), of which Sir John Willoughby has given
us the history in his well-known volume on ‘East Africa and its Big
Game,’ Sir Robert returned to Mombasa in company with Mr. Greenfield
and Mr. Hunter, and, after another visit to the “Hunter’s Paradise of
Taveta,” near Kilimanjaro, made a second trip, in quest of sport, up
the valley of the River Tana, which forms the northern boundary of
the dominions of the Imperial British East-African Company. Of this
excursion Sir Robert prepared a short account, which has been printed
as an appendix to the above-mentioned work. The party arrived at the
mouth of the Tana in September, and proceeded up the river in boats to
Golbanto, where they were hospitably received at the mission-station
on the river. Leaving Golbanto on September 28th they reached, about
ten days later, a village called Durani, some 150 miles from the mouth
of the river. Here on the north bank Mr. Hunter, on October 16th,
shot the first specimen of the Antelope which now bears his name, and
immediately proceeded to take the photograph of its head, from which
the accompanying engraving (fig. 7 _a_, p. 54) was taken. Other
examples of this species were subsequently procured by Mr. Hunter and
Mr. Greenfield. These include two heads (male and female) which are now
in Sclater’s custody, and on which he established the species, and the
mounted specimen which is now in the gallery of the British Museum. We
are not aware that besides the examples procured on this occasion any
other specimens of this rare and interesting Antelope have ever been
brought to Europe.
The female Hunter’s Antelope differs from the male in its rather
smaller size and in its longer and more slender horns, as shown in the
accompanying woodcuts (figs. 7 _b_ and 7 _c_) kindly lent to
us by the Zoological Society of London.
Mr. Hunter’s field notes on this Antelope (as supplied by him to
Sclater) are as follows:--
“We first met with this Antelope about 150 miles up the Tana River. It
is only found for certain on the north bank of the river. It frequents
the grassy plains principally, but I have also often seen it in thin
thorny bush. It is generally met with in herds of from 15 to 25
individuals.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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